Shaquille O'Neal explains why he wasn't a fan of Larry Bird growing up: "I thought everything he did was lucky"

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Larry Bird was one of the best shot makers of his era. Larry Legend was so crafty that he made too many difficult baskets for the Boston Celtics during his storied NBA career. While many were left in awe by Bird's uncanny ability to make tough shots, a young Shaquille O'Neal wasn't too impressed with the Celtics' Birdman.

"I wasn't a fan of Larry Bird growing up because I thought everything he did was lucky," said Shaq during an interview with Dan Patrick.

Shaq recalls Larry Bird's iconic over-the-backboard shot

It didn't help that Shaq had a childhood pal named Mitch Riles whom he often got into a fight with. O'Neal and Riles would recreate the Magic vs Bird rivalry with O'Neal playing the role of Magic and Riles portraying his idol Larry Bird.

Shaq remembers Riles hitting an over-the-backboard shot over him once to win a best-of-seven series between them. It can be recalled that Bird hit an iconic over-the-backboard shot in 1986. Although that basket did not count because he was out of bounds when he took that shot, it's one that's always played back and forth in NBA highlight reels.

"When I started getting older," added Shaq. You know, seeing guys put in work. He is one of the greatest players ever and it's not luck. It's all skill."

Even MJ said Bird was better than LeBron

Larry Legend was so good back then that even the GOAT, Michael Jordan, took notice of his greatness and picked him as the greatest small forward to ever play the game, LeBron James notwithstanding.

"People ask me all the time who my all-time five top players are," Jordan said. "And when I start saying Larry, they interrupt me. They say, 'You've got to be kidding me. He can't play with LeBron James!' I tell them, 'You guys don't get it. Larry is far better than any small forward who played the game, and to be honest, I'm still not sure if he is a small forward or a power forward.'"

Larry Bird is one of the NBA's all-time greatest players, whether a small forward or power forward. Larry Legend was so good that he made everything look so easy, to the point that young Shaquille O'Neal thought it was luck.